Long, Slow, Torturous Dance
by racefh853629
Summary: He sat there, trying to weigh the 'evils', and figure out what might help best. DL angst, follow up to Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, but can be read separately.


A/N: You guys asked for it, and I was more than happy to oblige. This follows after "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," but can actually be read on its own, too. I don't own CSI:NY, CBS, or any other recognized entity. I hope you guys enjoy. :)

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Long, Slow, Torturous Dance

"Don?"

His voice was desperate, partially drunk, and sad as hell, making Flack jump up in his bed. Something was really wrong with him this time. "Danny?" he replied softly. "What's wrong, buddy?"

"I've really messed things up, Don." Flack instinctively got out of bed, pulling on clothes. "I'm sorry to wake you up."

"It's okay, Danny. Listen, I'm on my way over, okay? Don't do anything stupid before I get there."

"You don't have to…"

"I'm going to. You sound like shit right now, and I don't want to know what you're capable of. We'll talk more when I get there, okay?" Danny didn't reply, yet Flack knew that he heard him. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"Okay," Danny said quietly, hanging up. Flack sighed, climbing into his car and walking out. As he sat down in the front seat, he knew what was going on.

Danny and Lindsay didn't have the most stable of relationships. From what Flack saw, she jerked him around and hurt him repeatedly. What was worse, Flack knew that Danny let her do that.

Danny was the type of friend that even if he was having the shittiest day of his life, he didn't think of himself, but found a way to try to make things better for everyone around him. It got him into trouble more often than it was helpful for him. Flack would never tell him that, though. Chances were, Danny already knew that, could already see that.

Flack drove as quickly as he could in the downpour, not wanting to get into an accident. The last thing Danny needed was one of his friends getting in a car wreck on the way to his place. Because Danny would feel guilty, and Flack didn't want to think about what he'd do in this case.

When he arrived at Danny's apartment building, he parked his car and ran up the stairs. He knocked on his friend's door, and was surprised that his friend answered it a second later. That meant that Danny was more desperate than Flack could've ever thought.

"What's goin' on, man?" Flack asked softly, taking off his sweatshirt and dropping it on the chair. Danny sighed.

"I, uh, I really fucked things up, Flack," he said sadly, sitting down on his couch. Flack sat down next to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Lindsay…" Flack watched him quietly before realizing Danny wasn't going to say any more without prodding.

"What about her?"

"I fucked things up."

"You keep saying that, but buddy, I need you to explain." Danny shook his head, looking to the floor. Flack took that as his cue to look elsewhere. Danny didn't want Flack to see him cry, and Flack didn't want to see that either. It always felt awkward when it happened, even though they'd been friends through thick and thin for years.

"I did something stupid."

"Which was…?" he prodded gently. Danny heaved a sigh.

"I cheated on her," he said regretfully. "With Rikki." Flack nodded.

"Does she know about it?"

"I don't know. Her and I haven't been on good terms since Ruben died in the first place. I just… I couldn't talk to her. And now… she hates me, and I don't know what to do to make things right." Flack sighed, biting his lip in thought.

"You pushed her away."

"I needed space. She did the same thing to me, in all honesty. But, I… I fucked it up. I wanted so bad for Rikki to be happy again… and I didn't want Lindsay to hurt either. But now both of them are out of my life and I don't know what to do." Flack sighed. As much as he didn't necessarily agree with Danny being with Lindsay, seeing him tortured like this was worse.

He looked down, weighing the evils. If he tried to get Danny to work things out with Lindsay, she'd possibly continue to toy with his emotions. Don't get him wrong. She wasn't a bad person, but she didn't know what she was getting into with him. When Danny fell, he fell hard. She'd been rather wishy-washy at first (at least from where Flack stood), testing the waters, and while Flack didn't blame her, he watched it eat at Danny because Danny was in a position where he couldn't fix her problem. Because she wasn't letting him in to tell him what was going on. And that drove him nuts.

And now, Lindsay hadn't necessarily been the best support for him during this time, but she'd be there for him. Danny was too proud to break down in front of her, though, and so they ended up in this awkward dance around the issues. And now, as Flack found out, it had become a triangle, with Rikki Sandoval in the middle.

He wasn't sure what would be worse. Danny chasing after Lindsay further, or telling him to let it go. Right now, Lindsay wanted nothing to do with Danny, it seemed. Although, he wasn't exactly sure if that was the case. Lindsay wasn't his best friend, so truth be told, he had no idea what she thought of Danny.

But he knew what Danny thought of her. Or, at least, he thought he knew. He couldn't be so sure anymore, with Danny sitting upset beside him. He wasn't sure if Danny was more upset that Lindsay was pissed, that Rikki was leaving, or that he thought he didn't stand a chance with making Lindsay happy again.

Knowing Danny, it was probably a combination of the three. But how was Flack supposed to guide him in the right direction?

"You haven't lost Lindsay yet, Danny," he said finally. He still wasn't sure that this was the right path, but it was the path of least resistance. "She still loves you and is still your friend. You haven't lost her." Danny sighed heavily.

"Feels like I have. She doesn't really wanna talk to me anymore."

"Danny, she's hurt you didn't let her in. That's not gonna go away so quickly."

"Yeah, I know." He looked over at Flack, who watched his friend with silent eyes. "Thanks for coming over, Flack. You didn't have to."

"Yeah, but you needed a friend tonight, with you," Flack replied. "Now, my real suggestion to you is to get some sleep tonight and come back to this in the morning, okay? Whatever's going on, you're not going to fix it tonight. She doesn't hate you, but I don't think she wants to talk about it right now. So, get some sleep, and take things a day at a time. As frustrating as it is, it's what you need to do." Danny nodded silently, sighing softly.

"Thanks, Flack."

"No sweat." Flack stood up, walking to the front door with the knowledge that he had done his work for the night. Danny followed him, where they bid each other good night. Flack drove home, hoping that things would be better for everyone in the morning.

The End.


End file.
